Projects

How is the visual-locomotor system shaped by  agent, environment, and task constraints?

This project observes visual-locomotor behavior such as eye movements, foot placements, and path finding in natural environments (e.g., rocky creeks, hiking trails, constructed staircases, rolling hills). Primarily relying on mobile eye tracking, these quasi-observational experiments aim to measure emergent, information-driven relationships between humans and their environments. 

What patterns of visual motion are intrinsically tied to motor action, in ways that make them a useful control signal for locomotor behavior?

This project aims to experimentally explore and characterize patterns of retinal optic flow that are generated by eyes moving over terrain during highly controlled, goal-oriented behavior. Experiments use Virtual Reality, Eye Tracking, and Full-body Motion Capture to study and control visual stimulation, while measuring corresponding locomotor action.

How does vision guide movement when the visual system develops differently?

In collaboration with clinicians at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, this project brings the lab's tools into the clinic to study how children with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) and nystagmus search their surroundings and move through them. Using mobile eye tracking, we aim to give clinicians new ways to see how their patients use vision in everyday action, while learning how the developing brain builds visual control of movement.